Textile apparatus



Nov. 16, 1954 s. A. PETERSEN TEXTILE; APPARATUS Filed Sept. 17, 1952lllllfll lllllllll llllllll Ill W. 5 RS. 0R a TE N F E R v% o A m D N En B 4| W 6 m u 4 4 4 4 I is 44 w m m W 2 i .1% I -L TEXTILE APPARATUSSvcnd A. Petersen, Brooklyn, N. Y., assignor to Celanese Corporation ofAmerica, New York, Y'., a corporation of Delaware- Application September17, 1952', Serial No. 310,060

3 Claims. (Cl. 164-61) This invention relates. to textile apparatus andrelates more particularly to cutters for cutting continuous filamentsinto fibers of staple length.

In the cutting of continuous filaments intov fibers of staple length, itis the practice to pass a, bundle or tow of continuous filaments througha crimping device to. impart a crimp to the filaments and then to passthe crimped tow through a cutter. Because of the crimp in the filaments,it is difficult to. cut the continuous filaments into staple fibers ofuniform or controlled length. If, during the cutting operation, thecutter imposes no tension on the crimped filaments, there will beobtained. fibers whose length varies in an irregular manner. On the.ther hand, if the cutter imposes a considerable tension on the crimpedfilaments there will be a tendency for the crimp to be pulled out of thefilaments, at least in part, thereby producing fibers that are notcommercially acceptable.

It is an important object of this inventionto provide a cutter forcutting continuous filaments into fibers of staple length which will befree from the foregoing and other difliculties and which will beespecially simple in construction and efficient in operation.

A further object of this invention is to. provide a cutter for cuttingcontinuous filaments into fibers of staple length which will yieldfibers of substantially uni-form or controlled length.

Other objects of this invention, together with certain details ofconstruction and combinations of parts, will ble apparent from thefollowing detailed description and c aims.

According to the present invention, there is provided a cuttercomprising a feed wheel over which the continuous filaments, which areusually in the form of a bundle or tow, are trained and which ispositively driven to control the rate of feed of the tow. As the towleaves the feed wheel it is guided into an open-ended conduit that ispositioned concentrically and internally of a second conduit whichextends beyond the end of the first conduit. A fluid under pressure isintroduced into the annular space between the conduits and flows throughsaid annular space and then through the second conduit. 4

The flow of the fluid through the second conduit will carry the towthrough the conduits and into and through an annular cutter block whichis positioned adjacent the end of the second conduit. As the end of thetow emerges from the cutter block it is cut to produce fibers of staplelength by a cutter comprising at least one cutting member mounted forrotation in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the tow, which membercarries a cutting blade that cooperates with the cutter block to do theactual cutting. The cutting members are shaped and positioned so thatwhen they are rotated during the cutting operation they will tend tocause a current of fluid to flow away from the cutter block to carry thecut tow away from the point at which the cutting takes place and toassist in moving the tow through the conduits.

A preferred embodiment of this invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawing wherein the figure is a side view of the cutter, partly insection.

Referring now to drawing, the reference numeral 11 designates a tow ofcontinuous filaments that passes around the periphery of a feed Wheel 12driven in any suitable manner (not shown) to regulate the feed of thetow. After passing around the feed wheel 12, the tow 11 enters afunnel-shaped guide 13 which directs the tow into an open-ended conduit14 positioned internally and concentrically of a conduit 15 that extendsp s the n of c nduit 14-. A fluid under pr ssur such as air, is enteredinto annular space 16 between the conduits 14 and 15 through a supplypipe 17 and flows through said space into and through, the conduit 15.The flow of fluid through the. conduit 15 induces a flow of into andthrough the conduit I4v in the same direction as the tow 11. The end ofthe conduit 14 is provided with a series of angularly disposed flutes 18to impart a. rotary motion tov the fluid flowing from the annular space16. and thereby hold the individual filaments in the. tow 11 togetheras, a compact bundle as it passes through the conduit 15. after emergingfrom the conduit 14.

The tow 11 next enters an annular cutter block 19 that is providedaround its periphery with a flange 21 which bears against a rim 22projecting internally of a sleeve 23 into which the conduit 15 isthreaded. The flange 21 of the. cutter block 19 is yieldably urgedagainst the rim 22 by means of a spring member 24 in the form of aspring washer that is interposed between the said cutter block and theend of the, conduit 15. The exposed. end, of the cutter block 19 iscurved as at 25' and the cutter block is held against rotation by meansof a key 26. The entire, feed assembly, indicated generally by referencenumeral 27, and comprising the guide 13, the conduits 14 and 15, the,cutter block 19 and the sleeve 23 is adjustably supported in a tubularframe member 28, by means of an apertured plate 29 pinned to a stud 3.1,which stud extends through a boss, 32 projecting from, the frame member28 and is held in place by nuts 33..

As the. tow 11 emerges, from the cutter block 19 it. is cut into fibersof staple length by means of a cutter assembly, indicated generally byreference numeral 3.4. The cutter assembly 34 comprises a frame member35 in, which is mounted for rotation, in anti-friction bean ings, 3.6,,a, shaft 37 carrying a bevel gear .38. The shaft. 3.7 is caused torotate by means of a bevel gear 39 secured; to a drive shaft 41 mountedin anti-friction bearings 42 in the frame. member 35. Secured to the endof the shaft 37 is a multi-blade cutter, indicated generally byreference numeral 43, that rotates in a plane. peqlaendicular to theaxis of the. tow 11 and comprises a p ura1.1ty of radially extendingmembers 44. carrying cutt ng blades 45 held in place by screws 46. Eachof members 44 comprises an airfoil, which airfoils are arranged so thatwhen they are. rotated by the shaft, 37 they will tend to cause acurrent of fluid to move downwardly away from the cutter block 19.Extending downwardly beneath cutter 43 is a passageway 47 whose upperend is closed by means of a cover 48 having a number of apertures 49therein for the controlled admission of fluid.

During operation, the feed wheel 12 is driven at a suitable rate tocontrol the feed of tow 11. As the tow 11 enters the conduits 14 and 15it will be drawn through the said conduit and the cutter block 19 by thestream of fluid entering the apparatus from the supply pipe 17. The endof tow projecting beyond the cutter block 19 will be severed by thecutting blades 44 to produce a bundle of fibers of staple length. Thecurving of the end portion 25 of the cutter block 19 produces ascissorslike action in the cutting of the tow 11, While theadjustability of the feed assembly 27 permits the clearance between thesaid cutter block and the cutting blades 45 to be set so as to give themost eflicient cutting action. The rotation of the cutter 43 will tendto cause a current of fluid to move through the passageway 47 to assistin moving the staple fibers through said passageway, while the apertures49 will permit the entry of additional fluid into said passageway andthereby control the velocity of said stream of fluid. The length of thestaple fibers produced will depend upon the relative speeds of the feedwheel 12 and the cutter 43. If it is desired to produce a mixture ofstaple fibers of different length, this may be readily achieved byhaving different angular spacings between the cutters 43 so thatdifferent lengths of tow 11 will emerge from the cutting block 19between the successive cuts.

When continuous filaments are cut into fibers of staple length employingthe apparatus of this invention, there are obtained products ofsubstantially uniform or controlled length which retain substantiallyunchanged the crimp originally present in the continuous filaments.

It is to be understood that the foregoing detailed description is givenmerely by way of illustration and that many variations may be madetherein without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I desire to secure by Letters Patentis:

1. A cutter for cutting continuous filaments into fibers of staplelength, comprising a conduit, a second conduit extending past the end ofthe first conduit, said first conduit being positioned internally andconcentrically of said second conduit, means for introducing a fluidunder pressure into the annular space between the first conduit and thesecond conduit whereby the fluid will flow through the annular space andout through the second conduit to move a tow through the conduits, anannular cutter block positioned to receive the tow from the conduit, acutting member carrying a cutting blade positioned to rotate in a planeperpendicular to the axis of the tow for bringing the cutting blade intooperative cutting relation with the cutter block for cutting the towemerging from said conduit to produce fibers of staple length, the outerend of the cutter block being curved so that the cutting is effectedwith a scissors-like action, said cutting member being constructed andarranged so that its rotation tends to cause a current of fluid to flowaway from the cutting point, means for adjusting the clearance betweenthe cutting block and the cutting blade, a passageway enclosing saidcutting member, and means for permitting a controlled flow of fluid intosaid passageway.

2. A cutter for cutting continuous filaments into fibers of staplelength, comprising a conduit, a second conduit extending past the end ofthe first conduit, said first conduit being positioned internally andconcentrically of said second conduit, means for introducing a fluidunder pressure into the annular space between the first conduit and thesecond conduit whereby the fluid will flow through the annular space andout through the second conduit to move a tow through the conduits,angularly disposed flutes carried by said first conduit for imparting arotary motion of the fluid, an annular cutter block positioned toreceive the tow from the conduit, a cutting member carrying a cuttingblade positioned to rotate in a plane perpendicular to the axis of thetow for bringing the cutting blade into operative cutting relation withthe cutter block for cutting the tow emerging from said conduit toproduce fibers of staple length, the outer end of the cutter block beingcurved so that the cutting is eifected with a scissors-like action, saidcutting member having an airfoil section so that its rotation tends tocause a current of fluid to flow away from the cutting point, means foradjusting the clearance between the cutter block and the cutting blade,a passageway enclosing said cutting member, and means for permitting acontrolled flow of fluid into said passageway.

3. A cutter for cutting continuous filaments into fibers of staplelength, comprising a conduit, a second conduit extending past the end ofthe first conduit, said first conduit being positioned internally andconcentrically of said second conduit, means for introducing a fluidunder pressure into the annular space between the first conduit and thesecond conduit whereby the fluid will flow through the annular space andout through the second conduit to move a tow through. the conduits,angularly disposed flutes carried by said first conduit for imparting arotary motion of the fluid, an annular cutter block positioned toreceive the tow from the conduit, stop means for accurately positioningthe cuter block, means yieldably urging the cutter block against thestop means, a cutting member carrying a cutting blade positioned torotate in a'plane perpendicular to the axis of the tow for bringing thecutting blade into operative cutting relation with the cutter block forcutting the tow emerging from said conduit to produce fibers of staplelength, the outer end of the cutter block being curved so that thecutting is effected with a scissors-like action, said cutting memberhaving an airfoil section so that its rotation tends to cause a currentof fluid to flow away from the cutting point, means for adjusting theclearance between the cutter block and the cutting blade, a passagewayenclosing said cutting member, and means for permitting a controlledflow of fluid into said passageway.

References Citedin the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,764,202 Drefus June 17, 1930 2,107,933 Crockett et al. Feb.8, 1938 2,143,252 Kornegg Jan. 10, 1939 2,173,789 Nikles et al. Sept. 9,1939 2,296,253 Bitter Sept. 22, 1942 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date805,791 France Sept. 7, 1936 349,161 Italy June 8, 1937

